Academic laggards don’t always finish last. There’s life beyond poor exam results. Why, then, do good grades mean so much? Anil pandey analyses
when Raman flunked his Class 12 exams, his family was devastated. He now knew he wouldn't be able to fulfil his parents' dream of making him a doctor. Worse, advice flew thick and fast. Friends and relatives told him he wasn’t cut out for academics. But Raman held his ground. He was sure his day would come. It did. He cleared Class 12 on his fourth attempt. Thirteen years on, Raman has risen above his poor academic record. He works as an adviser with a multinational company. “I wasn’t a good student. So during my school days, I was always tense and under pressure. But that didn’t stop me from achieving my target. You cannot rectify your past, but with perseverance and patience you can change your fate,” he asserts.
Raman is a shining example for students who meet with failure and are unable to deal with the disappointment. Parents tend to write off such children. They feel that good academic performance is an absolute must for a young person as he gears up to face bigger challenges that lie ahead.
However, there is no dearth of students who have proved that line of thinking wrong. As Raman says, nothing is impossible if one puts one’s mind to it. “One can achieve just about anything by sheer dint of hard work,” he adds.
Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman was a less than average student, but today he is an icon for millions. He has reached the pinnacle of his craft because he did not let lack of academic achievements throw him off balance. He dared to pursue his passion. Indeed, Rahman is proof that success in life stems from doing what one believes in, not what others expect.
The amazing story of Sachin Tendulkar is no different. He was a mediocre student, and so was Albert Einstein. Teachers called American inventor Thomas Alva Edison a “dull student”. These men may have struggled through school, but when it came to proving themselves to the world, they were second to none. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Winston Churchill, who changed the history of the world, were also average students.
Not everybody can be as successful as the aforementioned personalities, but their stories, and those of countless others, prove that the academic system may not always be equipped to assess the true worth of students. The system places too much emphasis on marks. Failure to measure up often leads to undue depression among students.
A student who scores 60 per cent marks walks with his head in the clouds, but one who gets 59 per cent finds himself down in the dumps and is gripped by a sense of dejection. Calling the efficacy of the education system into question, well-known sociologist Satyamitra Dube says: “Our marking system is wrong. Teachers are made to check a whole bundle of answer papers in one day. The marking system is not foolproof and there always exists a chance of human error. That is why we are now talking about introducing a grading system.”
If a student has good command over a particular subject, but is ordinary in all others, he is unable to score good marks. This leaves him depressed and low on confidence. Academics feel that we need a system that is able to judge a student’s real aptitude and encourage him/her to take up the right subjects. That would obviate the possibility of a situation in which a student feels trapped and inadequate.
Had Sachin Tendulkar’s elder brother not spotted his hidden talent and encouraged him, the world would have been deprived of an exceptional cricketing icon. But everyone isn’t Sachin. There are many who end up defeated and dejected.
Good grades do play a role in helping youngsters get plum jobs, but marks are certainly not everything. It is the duty of teachers and parents to spot a student's talent and then hone it.
Unfortunately, even today more importance is given to marks. Securing a first division has become a status symbol for parents. Teachers reward students who get high grades.
But they don’t realise that there are many students who, despite their insignificant academic performances, succeed in cracking the civil services exams, the toughest in India.
Even today, a large number of parents want their children to study science. They want theirs wards to become doctors and engineers. Thus there is intense pressure on children.
Director (academic) of the Kota-based coaching centre, Career Point, Shailendra Maheshri tells TSI that low grades are not a hindrance in clearing engineering and medical entrance tests.
“There are many students in our institute who don’t have good grades. Many have third division, but that has not stopped them from getting into the IITs and other prestigious institutes. Many among them are from the Hindi medium. The mantra to success is hard work,” he says. “From last year, IIT has set a 60 per cent bar on students appearing for entrance exams. But there are many prestigious institutes where students with less marks can still get admission.”
Moreover, students today have a wider range of career options than ever before. There was a time when the engineering and medical courses were regarded as the only worthwhile options, so there was a rush of students for these streams. But now other careers like tourism, information technology, business management, economics, sociology, acting and fine arts, among numerous others, are in great demand.
Professor JL Sharma of Delhi University says: “After globalisation, the demand for many less fancied subjects has increased manifold. Subjects that were once called “dry” are no more boring. Earlier, students would hesitate to take up English and Hindi (Honours) but the situation has changed. There is a huge rush among students to study these subjects. So things are changing for good.”
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
when Raman flunked his Class 12 exams, his family was devastated. He now knew he wouldn't be able to fulfil his parents' dream of making him a doctor. Worse, advice flew thick and fast. Friends and relatives told him he wasn’t cut out for academics. But Raman held his ground. He was sure his day would come. It did. He cleared Class 12 on his fourth attempt. Thirteen years on, Raman has risen above his poor academic record. He works as an adviser with a multinational company. “I wasn’t a good student. So during my school days, I was always tense and under pressure. But that didn’t stop me from achieving my target. You cannot rectify your past, but with perseverance and patience you can change your fate,” he asserts.
Raman is a shining example for students who meet with failure and are unable to deal with the disappointment. Parents tend to write off such children. They feel that good academic performance is an absolute must for a young person as he gears up to face bigger challenges that lie ahead.
However, there is no dearth of students who have proved that line of thinking wrong. As Raman says, nothing is impossible if one puts one’s mind to it. “One can achieve just about anything by sheer dint of hard work,” he adds.
Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman was a less than average student, but today he is an icon for millions. He has reached the pinnacle of his craft because he did not let lack of academic achievements throw him off balance. He dared to pursue his passion. Indeed, Rahman is proof that success in life stems from doing what one believes in, not what others expect.
The amazing story of Sachin Tendulkar is no different. He was a mediocre student, and so was Albert Einstein. Teachers called American inventor Thomas Alva Edison a “dull student”. These men may have struggled through school, but when it came to proving themselves to the world, they were second to none. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Winston Churchill, who changed the history of the world, were also average students.
Not everybody can be as successful as the aforementioned personalities, but their stories, and those of countless others, prove that the academic system may not always be equipped to assess the true worth of students. The system places too much emphasis on marks. Failure to measure up often leads to undue depression among students.
A student who scores 60 per cent marks walks with his head in the clouds, but one who gets 59 per cent finds himself down in the dumps and is gripped by a sense of dejection. Calling the efficacy of the education system into question, well-known sociologist Satyamitra Dube says: “Our marking system is wrong. Teachers are made to check a whole bundle of answer papers in one day. The marking system is not foolproof and there always exists a chance of human error. That is why we are now talking about introducing a grading system.”
If a student has good command over a particular subject, but is ordinary in all others, he is unable to score good marks. This leaves him depressed and low on confidence. Academics feel that we need a system that is able to judge a student’s real aptitude and encourage him/her to take up the right subjects. That would obviate the possibility of a situation in which a student feels trapped and inadequate.
Had Sachin Tendulkar’s elder brother not spotted his hidden talent and encouraged him, the world would have been deprived of an exceptional cricketing icon. But everyone isn’t Sachin. There are many who end up defeated and dejected.
Good grades do play a role in helping youngsters get plum jobs, but marks are certainly not everything. It is the duty of teachers and parents to spot a student's talent and then hone it.
Unfortunately, even today more importance is given to marks. Securing a first division has become a status symbol for parents. Teachers reward students who get high grades.
But they don’t realise that there are many students who, despite their insignificant academic performances, succeed in cracking the civil services exams, the toughest in India.
Even today, a large number of parents want their children to study science. They want theirs wards to become doctors and engineers. Thus there is intense pressure on children.
Director (academic) of the Kota-based coaching centre, Career Point, Shailendra Maheshri tells TSI that low grades are not a hindrance in clearing engineering and medical entrance tests.
“There are many students in our institute who don’t have good grades. Many have third division, but that has not stopped them from getting into the IITs and other prestigious institutes. Many among them are from the Hindi medium. The mantra to success is hard work,” he says. “From last year, IIT has set a 60 per cent bar on students appearing for entrance exams. But there are many prestigious institutes where students with less marks can still get admission.”
Moreover, students today have a wider range of career options than ever before. There was a time when the engineering and medical courses were regarded as the only worthwhile options, so there was a rush of students for these streams. But now other careers like tourism, information technology, business management, economics, sociology, acting and fine arts, among numerous others, are in great demand.
Professor JL Sharma of Delhi University says: “After globalisation, the demand for many less fancied subjects has increased manifold. Subjects that were once called “dry” are no more boring. Earlier, students would hesitate to take up English and Hindi (Honours) but the situation has changed. There is a huge rush among students to study these subjects. So things are changing for good.”
or Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
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